Tamed, but Not Broken
by Dionnysia
Summary: Young Susannah Marie West, aka Teyshas/Texas, roams her lands freely. Will she remain this way forever, or will France, Spain, or America finally break her?
1. Chapter 1

Yes...I have too many stories going on at once. But I _had_ to write this one! I don't own Hetalia or its characters...I just claim my original characters. :) I am trying to be as historically accurate as possible, so let me know if anything is wrong. Please review...I love to know how I am doing! Hope you enjoy the story!

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><p>Chapter 1: The Mysterious Stranger!<p>

The little girl with no formal name ran as fast as her chubby legs would carry her through the tall grass. She finally reached the shelter of the mesquite tree that served as her shelter. Beneath the buckskin draped over the large bush, she hugs her legs to her chest.

She knew all of the creatures and peoples that roamed freely over her lands. Yet today, she had seen some new and strange creatures. They looked like deer in a way, but they were way bigger and they had a second head that was shiny. The girl shivered at the thought of the creature. _Silly! Don't be afraid of that! Nothing scares you!, _she reprimanded herself.

After some time had passed, the girl cautiously peeked outside of her shelter...only to be blinded. She put her grubby hands to her eyes as she squealed in pain.

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, better known as Spain, lifted up the visor of his helmet to see the source of squealing he heard. He knew the land he was exploring was home to fierce natives that he had no desire to conflict with. Looking down in front of him, Antonio blinked in surprise.

Standing in front of him was a little girl, no more than a toddler really. The strong breeze whipped her brown braids as her dark eyes glittered at Antonio furiously. Her little hands were tightly clenched into fists on either side of her fringed buckskin dress. Behind the girl was something like a tent made of a stubby tree and animal hides. "Go away you bad animal! I'm not afwaid of you!"

Smiling, Antonio dismounted from his horse and removed his helmet, passing it to a soldier. _She's like Romano, in a way..._ The young man crouched and held out his hand to the girl who looked different from the other natives of the land. "Hola!" Antonio greeted the girl warmly.

The little girl maintained her defiant stance. _It's a man...and a strange animal. Are the others like that too? He sure doesn't look like any of my people_. Antonio's green eyes, fair skin, and metal armor were a stark contrast to the appearance of the people that cared for the girl some. Those people had skin the color of clay, hair the color of midnight, and eyes the color of mud. Those people that gave her a bath, braided her hair, gave her clothes, and built her shelter.

"Me llamo Señor Carriedo. ?Como te llamas?" Antonio again greeted the young girl before him.

The girl stared at him for several moments before speaking, deciding if this new man was a friend or an enemy. "Sometimes I yam called Teyshas. She stepped forward and placed her small hand into Antonio's.

Antonio gently squeezed the tiny hand in his. He was about to speak when a clap of thunder interrupted him.

"!Senor!" an alarmed companion of Antonio's called out, gesturing to the sky.

Antonio followed the soldier's finger to the sky, which had gone from clear to a boiling mass of wicked bluish clouds over the course of the afternoon. Antonio picked up the little girl. "Vamanos, mija." There was no way he could leave her alone out here.

"No!" the girl screamed. "I don't want to go wif you!" She bit her captor hard and landed a kick in a sensitive spot, causing him to drop her as he yelped in pain. Teyshas bounced onto the ground and ran away.

Antonio winced, sore from where the girl had kicked him. Panicking, he surveyed the landscape around him. Somehow, in the thirty seconds his eyes were closed, the girl had disappeared. Antonio reluctantly mounted his horse and signaled for him men to move out. _I hate to think of that little child being out here all alone in this storm. I have to take care of my men too, though, and judging by those clouds we don't have much time to lose. Dios mio, she is like Romano._ Antonio smiled at the thought of his young charge back in Spain as he and his company rode away.

After the storm passed, Teyshas looked for the man in the funny suit for a long time, but she did not see him again for nearly 200 years.

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><p><strong>Historical Note:<strong> In 1519, Spaniards discovered Texas quite by accident. They claimed the territory and explored it a little, but until about 1700 most of Spain's focus was on Central and South America.

**A/N**: Since Texas ultimately passes through many hands, she will be called different names. Her first name, Teyshas (later Tejas in Spanish) comes from a Native American word meaning friendship. Her full name, Susannah Marie West, comes from the names that France, Spain, and America will give her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Failed Colony

"S'il te plait, mon belle, come inside! You will catch cold!," Francis pleaded with his young charge. The buckskin-clad girl he was addressing folded her arms and turned her head away. The softly falling rain dripped off of her auburn braid. Lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the crude wooden fort and the tall pine trees that surrounded it. Thunder rumbled and lightning flickered again, causing the little girl to jump. She had been through many storms before, but they still scared her sometimes. Francis sighed and approached the girl. She tried to run away from him, but he was able to easily sweep her up into his arms. "Mon petite Marie, I cannot leave you out here alone." Marie beat Francis with her tiny fists, only causing Francis to chuckle softly at her protests, which served to enrage the little girl more. The two finally entered the fort, both dripping wet.

Later that evening, Francis reclined on his bed, a glass of his favorite red wine in his hand. The evening had been very long. The Frenchman took a sip of his wine. _Very long indeed_. His black eye and various other bruises were a testament to that fact. Marie had fought him all night long, despite his best attempts to make her comfortable. During her bath, Marie had splashed water all over him and the floor. During dinner, Marie had dumped the food over her head. Francis sighed. Putting her to bed had been the worst. Three times he had gently tucked her in and three times she had run from the house to the muddy courtyard of the fort. Each time she had gleefully given Francis quite the chase. After the last time he caught her, the mischievous little girl had wriggled free of her dress in Francis's arms and slammed the door in his face. At his wit's end, the French had finally resorted to giving Marie a good spanking. Given the threat to "behave or else!", Marie had ultimately remained in bed, whimpering.

Francis rubbed his sore eye absently and sighed. _Why could the wild little girl not be like the gentle little Matthieu?_ Francis missed his newest little brother and the home he had built in Canada. Francis longed to return there, but his boss had ordered him to come to Lousiane, in the South, to establish a foothold against England and Spain. France had found a good place and built a settlement near the Mississippi River, but doing so had not been easy. Teyshas, as the natives called the land, was wild. She did not want to be held captive. France was constantly being tested by the natives and by the wild weather. Francis walked over to his desk and poured another glass of wine. His eyes rested on a sealed letter, an annual report of the colony in the South. The Frenchman recollected some of the details he had included in the report.

..._the land is rich and plentiful. There is abundant game and timber for building. The The natives are open to trading, but they constantly attack the settlement and raid us. The weather has proven to be quite a challenge too. The winters are bitterly cold and the summers miserably hot, but things may change within a minute's notice. It is not uncommon for a day to dawn bright and hot only to become rainy and cold later. The people are not accustomed to such weather, so many of them have fallen ill.._

The land, just like its personification, held much promise. First, though, it all needed to be tamed. Francis sighed for what felt like the millionth time that evening. He hated the fact that he had left Marie to cry herself to sleep...again. Tonight had been nothing unique, just worse than usual. Normally, he avoided bruises and Marie did not go to bed crying.

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><p><em>Three years later<em>

Marie pouted up at Francis. "Parce que? Why do you have to weave? I wubv you! You can't weave!". The little girl latched on to his leg and looked at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Francis gazed down at Marie, rubbing his temple. In the four years that the girl had been under his care, the Frenchman had been able to tame her in the slightest manner. The girl's appearance proved such a fact, for she no longer wore a buckskin dress. Instead, Marie now wore a lovely French gown and her hair was a mass of curls piled atop her head under a dainty cap. A tear formed in the corner of Francis' eyes. He had worked so hard to gain the little girl's trust, to help her to not be so wild. Now he was being forced to throw it all away. The man knelt down and embraced Marie before gently extracting her from his leg. "Ecoutez-moi, mon belle...it seems that you actually have another brother, one who wants me to leave. My boss thinks it would be better for me to leave as well, so that I can take care of other, ah, things." Francis stood up and looked away. Marie gaped at him for a moment.

"Monsieur, everything is ready to go," a soldier addressed Francis. Francis nodded his acknowledgment, then knelt to give Marie one last hug. Marie's innocent looked had faded into a glare, one that Francis knew all too well by now. _Oh non, mon Dieu, non..._ Marie suddenly bit his hand hard, then ran off. "Aughh! Zut alors!," Francis cried out in pain. He cradled his hand and scanned the area for Marie, to no avail. After several minutes, he finally climbed into a waiting wagon and began the long journey back to France.

Marie ran and ran until she could run no more. She did not know how long she kept running, but when she finally stopped, she was in the mountains and the sun was setting behind them, turning everything red. Tears running down her face, she ripped off what remained of the French dress she wore, save for the thin white gown underneath it. Her curls were now a tangled mess, the hat and pins that had restrained it long gone. _Did Frere leave because of _ me_?_, Marie thoughts tumbled around in her little mind until a dreamless sleep claimed her exhausted body and spirit. Eventually some Jumano people found her and took her back to their village, where they cleaned her up and fixed her hair. They tried to take her gown and give her some new clothes, but she cried. They sensed that they should just leave her be. Soon enough, Marie was roaming her lands freely yet again. This time, though, she wore a white gown.

Lovino pouted. "I can't believe you are leaving me, you bastard!"

Antonio picked up the boy and gave him a fond smile, hugging him. "Mi amigo, my boss wants me to go tend to another in the New World for a while. I am going to go see how things are there, then I will be back soon! You'll see!" Antonio set the disgruntled boy down and patted his head.

The Spaniard then turned to his French friend, who was present amongst many of his other friends. Francis fixed Antonio with a serious look. "Mon ami, take care of my Marie. She is wild and she may fight you, but don't give up on her. She will come around. Antonio nodded and embraced his friend tightly. The Spaniard waved at everyone else gathered at the docks before turning and going up the gangplank to board the ship. It was time for yet another adventure in the New World.

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><p><strong>Historical Note<strong>: From 1685 to 1689, the French operated a colony near the Gulf Coast in southeast Texas, Fort St. Louis. The colony did not fare well and was ultimately overrun by hostile Native Americans.**  
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**A/N**: I claim Susannah Marie West; everything else is from Hetalia's awesome creator. ^_^ Thank you to everyone who gave this story a fave/stalk/review...it means a lot. Let me know how I can improve or what you loved about the story! If you want translations, let me know, but I tried to make the French and Spanish phrases so that they could be easily understood.


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